COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO PROGRAM
The call for leadership is strong. A quick look at the front page of the daily newspaper confirms our collective yearning for leadership across sectors, institutions and borders to resolve the dilemmas of complexities of modern life. The assumption is that good leaders make a difference and that we are better off because of them.
Ask around you: do we need more leadership around here? The answer will be: absolutely yes. Ask the same people: what is leadership? And listen to their halting responses. For some, leadership is synonymous with very good management. For others it centers on persuasive abilities. Some equate leadership with heroic figures, while other with a very charismatic person.
Leadership is complex. All that we know confirms that. But if we don't understand at a basic level what leadership is (and is not), how we can prepare ourselves to lead well?
This course is designed to inform students in the Master of Science programs - and thus future business leaders - in a full-range view of leadership - leading self, leading others, leading organizations and leading a responsible business in society. Since leaders are made, not born, it is important to establish as early as possible a reflective understanding for the fundamentals and crucibles of leadership. Effective and responsible leadership requires leaders who are aware of the context in which they lead, the purpose of their leadership project, their stakeholders, their responsibilities, limitations and strengths, as well as the challenges and dilemmas they may encounter. In other words, they need to demonstrate self-awareness and awareness of others, that is, of followers as stakeholders. In addition, leaders need to know how and where to grow - and how they can help others to grow and become leaders in their own right.
Course Learning Objectives
- To explore the fundamentals of business leadership
- To deepen the understanding and improvement of self-awareness
- To understand that leadership takes place at individual, team and organizational level, and everyone requires a different set of skills
- To provide practical tools to improve their impact on others
- To help students develop and deepen their own leadership skills
- To practice and self-reflect about leadership experiences
CONTENT
1. WHAT IS LEADERSHIP Introduction to course |
2. IDEAL SELF An exercise on the importance of self-leadership, the purpose of your life¿s work and how to become an authentic leader |
3. LEADING THROUGH MOTIVATION |
4. REAL SELF & MY LEARNING AGENDA Discovering how I see myself, how others see me and do the Personal Balance sheet |
5. LEADERSHIP IS A CONVERSATION Conversations are the most powerful tool that a leader have. Mastering the art of conversations is the purpose of this session
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6. LEADERSHIP STYLES (LEADING OTHERS) Contrary to what much of the literature says, your type of leadership style is not what matters. |
7. TEAM LEADERSHIP How to master the art of leading a team |
8. LEADING ORGANZIATIONS The leadership of organziations requires specific practises of effective leadership |
9. LEADING THE NETWORK If leadership, at its most basic, consists of getting things done through others, then influence is one of the leader's essential tools. |
Methodology
The pedagogical approach will be based on active learning, self-reflection and team interaction. The appropriate teaching method will be chosen depending on the learning objectives of each class session. During class, students will be listening to mini-lectures, watching and discussing videos, participating in role-plays, using simulators and doing in-class exercises. This course will be using the ESADE-LEAD Platform (the link has been provided on the course Moodle).
Bibliography
The best textbook:
Yulk, G. (2013) Leadership in Organizations 8th ed. Pearson Education: Essex.
The best short introduction:
Jackson, B., Parry, K. (2011). A very short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about studying leadership. London/Thousand Oaks/New Delhi/Singapore: Sage.
Other sources:
Antonakis, J./Ciancolo, A.T./Sternberg, R.J. (2006), eds., The nature of leadership, Sage: Thousand Oaks, CA.
Bolden, R. et al. (2011). Exploring Leadership. Oxford University Press.
Bennis, W. and Nanus, B. (2003). Leaders. Strategies for taking charge. Harper: New York.
Ciulla, J., ed. (1998) Ethics. The heart of leadership, Quorum, Westport, CT.
Clegg, S., Kornberger, M. & Pitsis, T. (2008). Managing & Organizations. An Introduction to theory & practice. Sage: Los Angeles/London/New Delhi/Singapore.
DePree, M. (1989). Leadership is an art. Dell: New York.
Elkington, J. and Hartigan, P. (2008) The power of unreasonable people, Harvard Business Press: Boston, MA.
Friedman, S.D. (2008). Total leadership. Boston: Harvard Business Press
George, B. (2003). Authentic leadership. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, CA.
Hsieh, T. (2010). Delivering happiness. A path to profits, passion, and purpose. Business Plus: New York/Boston.
Kouzes, J.M. and Posner, B.Z. (2010). The truth about leadership. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, CA.
Maak, T./Pless, N.M. (2006), eds., Responsible leadership, Routledge: London/New York.
Rost, J.C. (1991) Leadership for the 21st Century, Quorum: Westport, CT.
Quinn, R.E. (1996) Deep Change. Discovering the leader within. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
